Singapore witnesses riots by South Asian expats

Singapore, Dec 9: In one of the worst unrests in Singapore in the past 40 years, 400 South Asian migrants clashed with security officials and the police on Sunday night over an accident when a private bus driven by a Singaporean mowed down an Indian labourer. 18 people, including police officials, were injured in the incident.

The scene on the otherwise quite and orderly streets of Singapore spoke of utter disarray when vehicles were overturned, buses set on fire and bottles were hurled at the security forces. "Police arrested 27 South Asians," said Ng Joo Hee, the police commissioner.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned that the authorities would "spare no efforts to identify the culprits and deal with them with the full force of the law. Whatever events may have sparked the rioting, there is no excuse for such violent, destructive, and criminal behavior."

The rioters belonged to a popular area in the city called "Little India" that is majorly populated by Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Nepali expatriates.

The issue has gone viral on social media, highlighting the issues of overcrowding and the increase in the hiring of migrant workers for the country's construction works and menial jobs.